Crossword Genius

Run out of English money? Observe where you’d get dollars (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tennessee

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'where you'd get dollars' is the definition.
The answer is a location as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

'run out of english money? observe' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'english' could be 'e' (abbreviation) and 'e' is present in the answer.
'observe' could be 'see' (observe can mean to see something) and 'see' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tennessee that I've seen before include "American state, capital Nashville" , "Volunteer State" , "playwright's assumed first name" , "Famous American playwright . . . . . . . . . Williams" , "... Williams, and southeastern US state" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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